Relationship between Sound Pressure Levels and the Risk of Hearing Loss using Personal Protective Equipment in Manufacturing Industries

Introduction: The sound pressure levels caused by work environment noise, along with the effects and ways of reducing it, are one of the most important issues in the manufacturing industry. Noise is the most common pollutant in the industrial environment, which can cause many disorders in various organs of the body, such as the auditory and vascular systems. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between different levels of sound pressure and the use of hearing protective equipment with a perceived risk of hearing loss in two textile industries.   Materials & Methods: The required information was collected using a questionnaire consisting of 5 dimensions and 22 items. Furthermore, the TES1358 sound analyzer was utilized in the hearing area of employees and at work stations under ISO9612. The questionnaires were distributed among all 150 employees, and 137 questionnaires were received for analysis. Spearman correlation coefficient and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were employed to analyze the data.   Findings: Given the increasing value of the indirect effect to the direct effect of using hearing protective equipment, and regarding the relationship between the different sound pressure levels and perceived risk of hearing loss, the individualschr('39') knowledge about hearing protective equipment plays a facilitating role in this regard. However, the individualschr('39') knowledge about noise does not affect this issue.      Discussions & Conclusions: The use of hearing protective equipment considering its mediating role in the relationship between the different sound pressure levels and perceived risk of hearing loss reduces the risk of hearing loss significantly. Therefore, it should be necessary to use protective equipment in the industries.